The ask: to design an app prototype for a nonprofit, using their pre-existing design guidelines, but making improvements to user experience.

To start this project, we researched and selected our nonprofits. I chose Keep Cincinnati Beautiful, an environmental organization in Cincinnati. Their mission is to unite neighborhoods through education and service. They teach the community how to care for their city and give them opportunities to get involved with clean up projects. We did an analysis of our nonprofits, identifying their biggest strengths and weaknesses. KCB had a strong and clear message, but wasn't connecting with the younger demographic and made it difficult for donors to support their cause with their time or money.

Next, we defined our users, by creating personas and empathy maps. We created an identity for both a recipient of the aid and a donor, then, we analyzed their greatest needs, fears, and hopes using empathy maps. 

My recipient persona is Elizabeth Russell, a single mother from Seattle. She values family and hard work and hasn't been able to get connected with other single moms since moving to Cincinnati. She lives in a neighborhood that is worn-out and struggles to find the beauty in her new city. Her full-time job keeps her too busy to do anything about it. My donor persona, Victoria Morgan, is the recently retired artistic director for the Cincinnati Ballet. With her new free-time, she's hoping to replace the fulfillment that working with the Ballet provided. She values creativity and community and is looking for meaning after a significant life change. 

With my users in mind, it was time to define my design direction. I created a mood board to explore different visual options. I wanted the style to be simplistic, but interesting. Keep Cincinnati Beautiful had already incorporated a handwritten style into some of their materials, so I decided to keep that up. That organic element made their brand feel personal and gave an idea of the community they're trying to build. To balance that out, I chose clean colors and simple fonts.

As part of our assignment, we were tasked with creating a new feature for the nonprofit's new app. I began brainstorming some features I could incorporate based on the weaknesses I found in my research. KCB struggled the most with their volunteer signups. It was so difficult for volunteers to sign up for events, that many gave up halfway through. If donors could see KCB's events in a calendar format and know when they're available, they could sign up to volunteer seamlessly.

I decided to create a sign-up calendar that could link to our donor's personal calendars. When they click on a date, they see not only KCB events, but their own commitments as well. That way, they can schedule volunteer time slots with confidence that they're not double-booking themselves.

Another weakness I found in KCB's user experience was their community building. There are so many neighbors in need, but no way for them to express those needs in a safe, judgement-free space. By creating a sort of "social media" where community members could post their needs to be taken care of by their neighbors, volunteers would be able to meet needs more acutely. Rather than guessing at what needs to be done, they can know for sure that their time and money are meeting specific needs in their city.

Lastly, I wanted to find a way to get community members excited about their city and more engaged with its many attractions. In order for them to "keep" Cincinnati beautiful, they need to believe it is in the first place! I created a city-wide scavenger hunt, where users could travel to different locations on an interactive map. The app would help them learn more about the location and allow them share photos of it on social media, creating interest in Keep Cincinnati Beautiful as a brand and in Cincinnati in general. 

At certain scavenger hunt locations, users would get a pop-up notification to look for a Keep Cincinnati Beautiful seed box.

At the seed box, they would find a free packet of flower seeds to plant anywhere in the city. The scavenger hunt doesn't simply help users find beauty, it helps them create it, too! At the seed box, they would also find a QR code to help them get involved with the Keep Cincinnati Beautiful initiative by downloading the app. 

Throughout the app and additional materials, I made use of KCB's already established, handwritten style. I created these design elements by hand on paper, then scanned them, transferred them to Photoshop to edit and recolor them. I made every icon and certain typographic elements handwritten to add visual interest and a feeling of comfort and home. I went through countless versions of each handwritten element, trying to get it just right.

This project taught me a lot about how design and usability converge. With the freedom to come up with new and bold ideas, I was able to get creative about what will improve user experience. I was also able to make practical updates, like incorporating PayPal, Apple Pay, and Venmo as payment options and creating a user profile to keep their volunteer commitments and donor information organized. This project also pushed my limits with Figma and forced me to find innovative ways to problem-solve and learn new techniques in the program.

Use this prototype to click through the entire app!